God and Christ in Irenaeus

248 Pages·2019·1.538 MB·English

by  Anthony Briggman

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OXFORD EARLY CHRISTIAN STUDIES
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THEOXFORDEARLYCHRISTIANSTUDIESseriesincludesscholarlyvolumeson
thethoughtandhistoryoftheearlyChristiancenturies.CoveringawiderangeofGreek,
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God and Christ
in Irenaeus
ANTHONY BRIGGMAN
1
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3
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For Kate
optima puellula in mundo
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Acknowledgments
ThisbookwouldnothavecometobeifIhadnotcometoCandlerSchoolof
Theologysixyearsago.So,itisrightformetofirstthankJanLove,Candler’s
Dean, for taking a risk and hiring this one-time adjunct professor. Beyond
giving me a chance to prove myself, Jan with Ian McFarland, then Associate
Dean of Faculty and Academic Affairs, approved a Teaching and Research
Grant that funded a portion of the research for Chapter1. Chapter5 and a
portion of Chapter3 were written during a semester’s leave funded by the
EmoryUniversityResearchCommittee.Iamgratefulforthefinancialsupport
ofthesegrants,butalsofortheencouragementthatcamewiththem.
Duringthecourseofpursuingthisresearch,Ihavelearnedwhatitmeansto
be a member of faculty. Beyond the establishment of treasured friendships,
Ihave beenthe beneficiary of wise counsel andconsiderableencouragement.
Candler’s most senior faculty have been unfailingly generous in these ways,
and their words have formed and shaped my thinking on matters too
numerous to mention. I think especially of my emails and conversations
with Carl Holladay, Luke Timothy Johnson, Carol Newsom, David Pacini,
and Philip Reynolds. Two of my colleagues, Philip Reynolds and Jonathan
Strom, left their intellectual fingerprints on this book when they solved a
mysterythathadbaffledmeforwelloverayear(youcanreadaboutitinmy
essay on theological speculation in Chapter1). Colleagues beyond Emory
alsoreadthatessayontheologicalspeculationandassuredmeIhadnotlost
mymind: I’m grateful for the time (and the psychologicalsupport) givenby
Mark DelCogliano and Jackson Lashier.
ImustthankTomPerridgeatOxfordUniversityPressforfirstinvitingme
to submit a proposal for this book and then for awaiting a good one. Karen
Raith ably managed the production process, kindly kept in touch, and
patiently awaited the receipt of certain very late forms. Christine Ranft’s
copyediting process brought the text into fine form. I am very pleased to
have this study join my first in Oxford Early Christian Studies. Gillian Clark
and Andrew Louth continue to direct the series as well as ever, ensuring its
vitalityandcontinuingsignificance.
Thisbookismuchbetter—andfarmoreuseful—thankstothediligenceof
three of my doctoral students. Grayden McCashen sought out all the refer-
encesintheIndexLocorum.MicahMillerspenthourscheckingandformat-
ting the pages that follow, as well as constructing the Bibliography and the
General Index. Amanda Knight saved the day. I am deeply grateful to each
ofthem.
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viii Acknowledgments
Portions of Chapters 1 and 4 have appeared previously in press, in earlier
forms, as “Irenaeus’ Christology of Mixture,” JTS 64.2 (2013): 516–55;
“Irenaeus on Natural Knowledge,” CHRC 95.2 (2015): 133–54; “Literary
and Rhetorical Theory in Irenaeus, Part 1,” VC 69.5 (2015): 500–27; and
“Theological Speculation in Irenaeus: Perils and Possibilities,” VC 71.2
(2017): 175–98.
Writing a book places particular pressures and stresses upon one’s family.
I’vefoundthatpressure andstressrevealcharacter,andIamevergratefulto
have married a woman with the character of my wife. Kelly is our family’s
NorthStar:heridealsandconvictionskeepustrue.Idon’tknowwhereI’dbe
withouther,butIknowthisbookwouldn’tbedone.Overthecourseofwriting
this study our daughter, Kate, grew from a precocious four-year-old, who
“graded”papersandreadbooksundermydesk,intothemostintelligent,kind,
loving,andfunnyten-year-oldIhaveeverknown.Sheisthebestlittlegirlin
thewholeworld.Thisbookisdedicatedtoher.
OUPCORRECTEDPROOF–FINAL,30/11/2018,SPi
Contents
Abbreviations xi
Introduction 1
1. Prolegomena 9
1.1. RhetoricalEducation 10
1.1.1. Hypothesis(ὑπόθεσις) 11
1.1.2. Œconomia(οἰκονομία) 23
1.1.3. Fiction(πλάσμαandμῦθος) 29
1.1.4. SectionConclusion 32
1.2. TheologicalSpeculation 33
1.2.1. TheCurrentNarrative 35
1.2.2. CritiqueandNewReading 39
1.2.3. SectionConclusion 51
1.3. NaturalKnowledge 52
1.3.1. AngelicorAngelicandHumanKnowledge? 54
1.3.2. NaturalKnowingorKnowingAidedbyGod? 58
1.3.3. Ratio:NaturalReasoningortheDivineWord? 63
1.3.4. SectionConclusion 69
1.4. ChapterConclusion 69
2. God 71
2.1. GodisInfinite 72
2.1.1. Transcendence 79
2.1.2. Incomprehensibility 80
2.1.3. Immanence 87
2.2. GodisSimple 90
2.3. GodisSpirit 99
2.4. ChapterConclusion 102
3. Word-Son 104
3.1. ReciprocalImmanence 107
3.2. LogicalFoundationofReciprocalImmanence 115
3.3. DivineProduction 121
3.4. ChapterConclusion 136
4. ChristologicalUnion 139
4.1. StoicMixtureTheory 140
4.2. AppropriationofMixtureTheoryinEarlyChristianity 146